Avoiding a “lost decade” in the Pacific
Remoteness has helped the Pacific mitigate the worst health risks in the pandemic – but not the severe economic costs.
Friday 22 Jan 2021 | 05:29 | SYDNEY
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Roland Rajah
Lead Economist and Director, International Economics Program
Lowy Institute
Areas of ExpertiseEconomic policy; macroeconomics; economic development in the Asia Pacific; international development
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Avoiding a Pacific Lost Decade: Financing the Pacific's COVID-19 Recovery
The Pacific's post-pandemic economic revival will rely on an internationalmulti-year recovery package of grants and loans led by Australia
Putting real Australian money on the table to help Indonesia
An outright loan for A$1.5 billion won’t meet all Indonesia’s needs – but it’s a very welcome start.
By Roland Rajah
Covid-19 and Indonesian monetary policy
Funding the deficit is a necessary short-term measure, but “free money” can lead down a dangerous path.
COVIDcast: America’s economy at the crossroad, with Adam Posen
In this episode of COVIDcast, Roland Rajah, Lowy Institute lead economist, speaks with Dr Adam Posen, President of the Peterson Institute for International Economics
By Roland Rajah
Submission to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Inquiry into the Implications of the COVID-19 Pandemic for Australia's Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade
Joint submission by Lowy Institute researchers to the JSCFADT inquiry into the implications of the pandemic.
The way to post-Covid recovery in the Indo-Pacific? Act now
If Australia wants to see future stability in the region, it needs to find ways to help today, not down the track.
By Roland Rajah
COVIDcast: The future of globalisation
The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region and the world.
COVIDcast: The future of globalisation
In this episode of COVIDcast, Roland Rajah, Lowy Institute lead economist, sat down with Pascal Lamy to discuss the future of globalisation.
By Roland Rajah
Keeping Indonesia’s Economy Afloat Through the COVID-19 Pandemic
Well-crafted emergency financing from Bank Indonesia and international partners such as Australia could be pivotal in getting Indonesia through this crisis
Emerging From COVID: Policy Responses To The Pandemic
In this new feature, Lowy Institute experts provide policy recommendations for Australia to address issues that are critical to our nation’s — and the world’s — successful emergence from the pandemic
Emerging from COVID: Policy Responses to the Pandemic
Lowy Institute experts provide policy recommendations for Australia to address issues that are critical to our nation's — and the world's — successful emergence from the pandemic
COVIDcast: World economy in flux
The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region, and the world.
COVIDcast: Adam Tooze on a world economy in flux
Roland Rajah, Lowy Institute lead economist, sits down with Adam Tooze, Professor of History at Columbia University and the Director of its European Institute, to discuss how the COVID-19 economic crisis is evolving and reshaping the world economy
By Roland Rajah
Aiding the Pacific during Covid – a stock-take and further steps
Money is flowing, but the proportion of support is well below amounts advanced economies are deploying for themselves.
COVIDcast Episode 12: Pandemic, emerging markets, and US dollar
The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region and the world.
COVIDcast: Emerging markets, the pandemic, and the role of the US dollar
Roland Rajah, Director of the International Economy Program, sits down with Brad Setser, Senior Fellow for International Economics, Council on Foreign Relations, to discuss the impact of the pandemic on emerging markets and the role of the US dollar
By Roland Rajah
Mobilizing the Indo-Pacific infrastructure response to China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Southeast Asia
A policy brief by Roland Rajah, Director of the International Economy Program at the Lowy Institute, published by The Brookings Institution
By Roland Rajah
COVIDcast Episode 9: Covid‑19 and the oil price collapse
The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region, and the world.
COVIDcast Episode 9: COVID-19 and the oil price collapse
In COVIDcast Episode 9, Roland Rajah, Director, International Economy Program, sits down with Rachel Ziemba, Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security, and Rodger Shanahan, Research Fellow, West Asia Program, to discuss the implications of the recent oil price collapse
Helping Indonesia to help ourselves
Originally published in the Australian Financial Review
COVIDcast Episode 7: The cost to the international economy
The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region, and the world.
COVIDcast Episode 7: COVID-19 and the International Economy
COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. In Episode 7, Roland Rajah sits down with the Institute's Director of Research, Alex Oliver, to discuss the impact of the coronavirus on the global economy.
How much is too much? Covid loans for the Pacific
Not all regional nations are overloaded by debt. There is some scope to lend sustainably.
Australia should offer Indonesia crisis insurance – quickly
With little to no cost at home, a multi-billion “standby” loan will help restore economic confidence in a big neighbour.
By Roland Rajah
The World After COVID
How will the COVID-19 pandemic change the world? Lowy Institute experts provide their analysis
The World After COVID‑19
How will the coronavirus pandemic change the world? Lowy Institute experts provide their analysis
How the virus could stagger Asia's giants
COVID-19 looks set to hit the emerging world hard. For Australia, what happens in India and Indonesia could be most consequential. Originally published in the Australian Financial Review
By Roland Rajah
What the G20 needs to deliver
A global pandemic demands a global “whatever it takes”.
By Roland Rajah
Avoiding the wrong lessons on aid and corruption
Is development aid an effective solution to lifting countries out of poverty? Roland Rajah, Director of the International Economy Program, and Research Fellow Alexandre Dayant write on aid and corruption. Originally published in the Devpolicy Blog
Limiting the global economic fallout from Covid-19
As the the coronavirus pandemic grows, preventing a full-scale financial crisis requires exactly the right response.
By Roland Rajah
COVIDcast Episode 2: virus is declared a pandemic
COVIDcast is a Lowy Institute pop-up podcast for anyone interested in understanding the effect of coronavirus on global politics. Each week for the next few weeks, Lowy Institute experts will sit down to discuss the implications of coronavirus for the world.
In Episode 2, Lowy Institute’s
Covid-19: Nearing a global pandemic?
As cases appear in more and more countries, officials struggle to prevent infections – and to manage public fears.
How China is changing the global balance of economic power
China has displaced the United States from its traditional dominance as a major trading partner for most countries of the world
By Roland Rajah
Coronavirus: One step forward, one step back for the global economy
Beyond the human toll, fears will stop people heading to shops, eating out, travelling, and cause other consumer costs.
By Roland Rajah
Chart of the week: Global trade through a US-China lens
Two thirds of the world trade more goods with China than with the US.
2020 Will Be a Watershed Year for the Global Economy
Originally published in the Council of Councils' Global Outlook 2020: The Economy
By Roland Rajah
Jokowi’s curious plan for Indonesia’s capital
The Indonesian president’s scheme to move the capital won’t fix Jakarta – or the government.
Debt-trap diplomacy not happening yet, but cause for concern
Originally published in The Australian
By Roland Rajah
China, the Pacific, and the “debt trap” question
Charges of saddling Pacific countries in debt may be overstated, but China’s lending practices still pose risks.
Ocean of debt? Belt and Road and debt diplomacy in the Pacific
China has not been engaged in debt trap diplomacy — at least not yet
Trumpian currency intervention is a bigger risk than China weaponising the yuan
Originally published in The Australian
By Roland Rajah
China-US currency clash: Who’s manipulating who?
Trumpian currency intervention is a bigger risk than China weaponising the renminbi.
By Roland Rajah
Trump’s Mexico tariffs an ominous sign for global economy
There is no appeasing a playground bully so why should countries bother to negotiate with the unreliable “Tariff Man”?
By Roland Rajah
Jokowi - business as usual will not be enough
Originally published in Nikkei Asian Review
Why US-China talks should focus on technology as the greater threat, instead of trade
Originally published in South China Morning Post
By Roland Rajah
An orthodox economic take on climate change shocks
Climate change has a significant bearing on macroeconomic outcomes such as growth and inflation.
By Roland Rajah
East Asia’s decoupling
East Asia is no longer reliant on US or Western markets to fuel its growth, giving it more room to manage amid global trade tensions
By Roland Rajah
Stepping up on Pacific infrastructure
The advantage of concessional loans is grant funding by Australia can be leveraged into a much larger amount.
By Roland Rajah
The G20 in a Zero-Sum World
Originally published in Columbia Journal of International Affairs on 28 November 2018.
By Roland Rajah
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